Whatever it takes
by lizzyleefree
Summary: Tamaki portrays romantic love like it's a grand play for his guests, but when love finally strikes him, he's not quite sure what to do. He tries to cope with his "secret" feelings, but Harui and the twins have a surprise up their sleeves as well. The Host Club will do whatever it takes to help family.
1. Episode 27

_Author's note: The song Tamaki is playing here is "Gymnopedie No. 1" (with a little dash above the first "e" that I don't know how to type). The artist is Erik Satie._

_This story takes place immediately after the finale of OHSHC, hence the name of the chapter._

_XX_

Harui left the school festival late, skipping every few steps. Most of the other people had gone home, but Harui went inside and wandered the halls to get some time to herself when the girls started fawning over how adorable she looked cosplaying "as a girl." She couldn't believe that she was so happy at the prospect of staying in the Host Club. She used to dream of the day that her debt would be paid and her life wouldn't be consumed with annoying rich boys.

Sometimes she wondered if they wanted her to break that vase. What was such an obscenely expensive thing doing on that precarious stand in the middle of the room, anyway? Surely the twins would have broken it eventually without her help.

Now she couldn't picture not being in the Host Club, and it took almost losing Tamaki as a friend to realize that. The Host Club made her feel exhausted, a bit smothered, but so happy and loved at the same time. That was the same way Tamaki made people feel, so it made sense that he was the club's core. She remembered when she first met Tamaki; she kind of looked down on him. She felt a little guilty for immediately assuming he was just another shallow, conceited rich boy with no real problems. It perplexed her to see what a huge heart he had, and how he never seemed to look down on anyone like she initially had on him. Then she realized he was pretty similar to her father, which somehow made him more tolerable- still annoying, but a friend she wouldn't want to be without.

It was strange, but as she thought of Tamaki, she could hear piano music. It wafted through the halls and she stopped to listen. When she was sure it wasn't her imagination, she followed it. She was led to music room #3- no surprise there. The door was cracked and she slipped in to see Tamaki's profile, head hung over the keys, with the moon rising in the window behind him. The distant noise of the festival-goers still outside faded away as she listened to the slow waltz her Sempai played. It was beautiful, but full of sadness and longing. Parts of it will soft and sweet, but then it would fall into a deep, mournful harmony. She never took the time to think before that moment, how someone who portrayed himself as so frivolous and cheerful would choose to play such music.

She stood there and listened until her eyes clouded with tears. She wiped them away and stared at her hand like it had some alien liquid it. She wasn't the type to cry just from a song. The notes gradually softened until it was quiet, but Tamaki didn't stand or start playing another song. He just sat, staring straight ahead of him.

"Um, Sempai?" asked Harui cautiously.

She heard him gasp quietly and straighten his shoulders before he turned towards her. He smiled fondly and strode across the room.

"Harui, I didn't hear you come in. My apologies."

"No, it's fine. I'm sorry for barging in."

Suddenly Tamaki grabbed her cheeks and looked into her red, moist eyes "YOU'VE BEEN CRYING?! TELL DADDY WHO HURT YOU!"

"Sempai!"

"I BET IT WAS ONE OF THOSE RED-HAIRED DEVILS!"

"Sempai!" said Harui more loudly, clapping his arms until she got his attention, "No one hurt me. I-I was just really moved by your music."

"Oh," mumbled Tamaki. He stared at her with surprise, his cheeks red. She was expecting him to freak out about how sweet that was, or at least glomp onto her and snap a selfie on his phone to capture the moment, but he just offered his elbow out for her to take, "Thank you. May I have the pleasure of walking you home, my dear Harui?"

"Uh, sure," she placed her arm in his and they walked out onto the school grounds.

They didn't say a word for several minutes. Harui found it serene, but it was strange for her Sempai to be so quiet.

"Hey, Sempai?"

"Yes?"

"Why were you playing such a sad song?"

Tamaki strategically tossed his blond hair in the moonlight and said with his best host voice, "It's the sadness of the song that brings its beauty, and it is my duty as a host to be an expert in all things beautiful." Rose petals showered down behind him. Where did those always come from, anyway?

"Is that the only-"

"You know, I'm still adjusting to seeing you in that white, flowing dress. It's far better than any song. You look like an angel."

"Yeah, save the poetic pickup lines for our guests," deadpanned Harui.

"It wasn't a pickup line," said Tamaki a bit indignantly, "Do you think I'm insincere?"

If he asked her that a few months ago, she would have said yes immediately, but she studied him for a moment before saying with a smile, "No, you're just dramatic."

Tamaki gasped and jumped defensively, "Harui, how could you say such a thing about your dear father?!"

"Hey, calm down! I didn't say being dramatic was a bad thing! It's part of who you are!"

Tamaki straightened up and laughed, "I suppose it's not bad; I've been called worse!"

When he said that Harui's face fell. She remembered his grandmother brushing past him as she spat the words _"filthy child" _at him.

He stopped walking and placed his hands on Harui's shoulders, "Hey, cheer up. What's wrong?"

"Sempai, do you-" her voice cracked, "Do you wish I hadn't brought you back?"

"What? Harui, I-"

"Because it's not just the song that made me think you were sad," she continued and the words poured out, "It was how you looked when you were playing it. I'm sorry. I know it makes you worry when I'm reckless, and then I pull that stunt with the horse carriage and convince you to pass up the one chance you had to see your mother! I mean, we want to always be there for you, but it was wrong of us to assume you should have us instead of her! I didn't think about what you were giving up to stay; I was thinking about how you leaving would affect the Host Club- how it would affect_ me!"_ She hung her head and whispered, "It was selfish."

Tamaki stared at her, suddenly at a loss for words. Harui stood for a few seconds, not looking up at him. Her breath caught in her throat as Tamaki pulled her towards him and clutched the back of her dress.

She placed her hands on his shoulder blades and felt moist drops falling on her shoulders.

"Sempai?"

He coughed out a laugh and mumbled "And you always say I'm the one who's stupid."

She stood there and let him hug her, not really sure what else to do.

"You didn't _convince_ me to do anything, Harui," he said softly into her neck, "You reminded me why I couldn't leave. I have a family here, and I have you."

He pulled away from Harui, lifting her chin up as he smiled, "I love you all dearly. I've spent years coping with the thought of never seeing my mother again; I'm guessing from the look on your face that they've told you my story?"

Harui nodded.

Tamaki continued, looking up into the distant night sky, "When the chance to see her again was dangled in front of me, I would have done anything to take it," he chuckled sadly and shook his head, "I dreamed foolishly for years that she would come to Japan, magically healthy again, and I could see her smile every day. I doubted how long Grandmother would even let me see her, even married to Eclair. If it was just for one visit, it would be better not to see her at all. I would have to break her heart again, and be married to someone I neither knew nor loved."

"Sempai-" Harui whispered.

"But by the time all that occurred to me the flight was booked, and I felt like I had to follow through, to be a good son."

"You don't feel like a good son?"

"I feel like I am what I am- _a bastard_," he sat on a bench nearby and looked away from her, his face red, "I'm sorry for using such crass language in front of you Harui. That was not how a gentleman would behave."

Harui sat down by him, "I don't care if you're a gentleman. I care that you're Tamaki."

He looked up with wide eyes, touched to hear his first name escape Harui's mouth.

"All your self-worth is tied up into being a gentleman. You think if you have enough charm, good looks, or class that your fathers' side of the family will accept you- like you have to make up for the circumstances you were born under? Well, I say if you have to put up that thick of a wall for them to respect you, then it's their loss, not yours."

Tears spilled over Tamaki's cheeks, but a broad smile spread across his face. He clutched Harui's hand and said, "I don't know what I would do without you and the Host Club, Harui. You truly are my family."

"Haha, you're never gonna stop calling yourself my father, are you?"

"Your father…" he said thoughtfully. "Today made me realize that I can confide in you more than a parent ever could in a child. When you let me hug you, I was scared- that I would never see my mom again, or that my father would never accept me. I wondered if it was how you felt when you hugged me coming out of that wardrobe."

"Well, I don't really think of myself as your daughter," truthfully she always thought it was weird that he called her that, "But you're right. Whatever we are, we're family."

She stood up and offered her arm out for Tamaki to take so that they could continue their stroll. However, there seemed to be a conveniently place rock behind her, which she of course tripped over, falling backwards.

"Harui!" shouted Tamaki as he lunged towards her. He caught her in a low dip, just before her head hit the concrete. He remained with his face inches from her, breathing hard.

"Thanks, Sempai."

"You need to stop putting yourself in danger, Harui. You're going to give your old man a heart attack."

"Yeah, ok."

He stood straight, but still held the back of her head protectively so their faces remained close. Harui shifted nervously. She'd seen enough movies to know what this pose was preemptive to.

"Umm,"

"Harui…" he pulled her closer and paused to be sure that she had the same inclination he did. His lips brushed hers, making them part slightly. She was a little curious as to what an _intentional_ first kiss would be like. People seemed to make a big deal out of them.

"Hey, boss, what are you doing to our Harui!?" shouted the Hitachi twins in unison, popping from the bushes.

"GAHHH!" Tamaki jumped back, "Nothing, I just saved her from cracking her head open!"

"Yeah, and then you were gonna kiss her!" accused Hikaru, popping up on one side of Tamaki.

"GASP!"

"What kind of host takes advantage of a girl in a vulnerable situation like that?" asked Karou on the other side.

"GASP!"

"Guys, he wasn't taking advantage of-"

"OF COURSE I WASN'T ABOUT TO KISS HER! WHAT KIND OF SICK FATHER WOULD DO THAT?!"

"Ok, apparently we're not off the father-daughter thing," moaned Harui, although no one seemed to be listening to her.

"Oh yeah, you're sick, alright," said the twins.

"WELL THEN WHAT WERE YOU PERVERTS DOING SPYING IN THE BUSHES?!"

"We started looking for Harui…" started Karou.

"And then we heard you two talking. We couldn't understand, but it looked serious and we weren't going to interrupt…"

"Until we saw you about to deflower her with your lips…"

"WHAT-"

"Will you guys shut up?" yelled Hauri.

They all turned to her in shock. It was not often she raised her voice. "It's not a big deal, ok? My first kiss didn't turn out to be a big deal. Well- mainly because it was an accident and it was with a girl who was in love with the guy standing right next to us, but…"

"Yeah, it was pretty awkward," said Karou.

"My point is, after my kiss with her I was still the same person. Whether Sempai was trying to kiss me or not, I didn't feel threatened, so what's the big deal?"

The three boys all exchanged glances uneasily. If Sempai wasn't so embarrassed, she knew he would have used that as a flowery-monologue-opportunity about the sanctity of true love's first kiss.

"I mean, are you on that whole 'defending-my-honor' thing?" she asked, "That's nice of you, but I think I can cover that on my own."

The twins sighed, "Whatever," they turned to Tamaki, "it's good to have you back, boss."

"Hey, Harui, how about _we_ walk you the rest of the way home?"

"WHAT?" shouted Tamaki. He watched in horror as the twins slung their arms around her.

"Yeah, the boss has had enough fun with you tonight," said Karou, tossing his hair aside and pecking Harui's cheek.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind going the rest of the way with them, Sempai. I wanted to talk with them, anyway."

Tamaki deflated like a balloon and retired back by the bench to grow mushrooms.

"Hey, don't be sad, Sempai," she kneeled down by him and whispered so that the twins couldn't hear, "Let's go to the carnival tomorrow. I heard it's in town."

Tamaki's eyes sparkled like a child's, "You mean the commoner tradition with the giant wheels and cotton candy and shifty but charming carnies?"

"You know it!"

Tamaki jumped up, danced away in a stream of dream-like sparkles, and sang "Ok-I-guess-I-can-let-you-two-walk-her-home-but-if-you-do-anything-naughty-I'll-hunt-you-dowwwwwn..."

As the Host Club's King glided away into the night, the twins and Harui walked off towards her neighborhood.

"So what did'ja wanna talk to us about, Harui?" harmonized the twins, leaning in with their hands behind her backs. They expected full disclosure about the almost-kiss, but Harui was thinking about something different.

"It's about Sempai's mother."

XX

_Author's note: Yay, done! So, here are some things to expect from this story if you're interested:_

_It should be novella length. I will try my best to update at least once a week, but it may be more than that depending on how many people I feel are reading it (knowing people are anticipating the next chapter is a good motivator!). It's told in third person omniscient perspective. I don't do lemons, but I may do lemonade. I never do author's notes in the middle of the chapter, and the next chapters will probably have hardly any. This is my first OHSHC fic and Harui has become my favorite anime heroine EVER. Lastly, I'm friendly, so message me any time!_


	2. Operation Carnie

Tamaki walked to Harui's place, since she said on the phone it was a nice day and she didn't feel like riding to a carnival in a "showy-rich-person-car." He secretly hoped she'd wear a dress. She wore one on her date with Hikaru, so it was only fair, right?

He suddenly stopped in his tracks. _'This isn't a date, right? Harui and I aren't…' _his thought trailed off as he remembered how fast his heart was beating when his face was so close to hers last night. He could deny it to others, but there was no lying to himself; he _was_ going to kiss her.

"How can I entertain so many girls and feel nothing but friendly affection?" he asked himself, "How is it only with Harui I…"

He shook his head and kept walking, not wanting to think about it. He figured there was no way she felt the same way; she was so ambivalent about everything.

Before Tamaki knocked on the door, the theater of his mind lapsed into a prediction of what it could be like when she opened it:

_Harui Fujioka enters the stage, wearing a chiffon pink dress billowing in the morning breeze._

_Tamaki Suoh: Hello, Harui (takes her hands in his). Are you ready to go to the carnival?_

_Harui: Almost, but (bashful) Tamaki-Sempai, will you always stay by my side?_

_Tamaki: (Strokes hair) Oh, Harui, of course I will. (Their faces draw closer. Tamaki uses a sultry voice.) There is nothing that could keep me away from you. I love-_

Tamaki was snapped back to reality just as Harui opened the door and he finished saying "You."

"Um, what are you saying, Sempai?"

"What?! Was that outloud?"

"I don't know. Are you just talking to yourself in front of my place? That's kind of weird."

Harui wasn't wearing a dress, but somehow she still managed to look adorable dressed like a boy, as always. She wore a cuffed pair of her dad's pants, with a green v-neck shirt, some brown boots, and a confused expression. In her right hand she held a trash bag, which explained why she opened the door before Tamaki knocked.

"NO I WASN'T TALKING TO MYSELF I'M FINE HERE LET ME TAKE THAT TRASH OUT FOR YOU."

Before Harui could even open her mouth, Tamaki was downstairs with the bag.

By the time he came back to the door, he was completely composed, "Harui, are you ready to go to the carnival?" He gave a slight bow and spoke in an overly eloquent way for the subject manner.

"Ummm," said Harui, not really sure how to react, "I actually made some late breakfast, if you want some before we leave."

"GASSSSP!" Tamaki squeezed her tight, causing her to grunt in protest, "Haruiiiiii! You cooked for me?!"

"No, she cooked for her father! And just what are you doing to my little girl?"

Tamaki let Harui go immediately at the sound of her father's voice. He was standing in men's pajama's, but with full make-up and his hair in curlers. "I'm sorry for not greeting you already, Mr. Fujioka! Please accept this gift!" Tamaki bowed deeply, holding an ornately wrapped box of pastries.

Harui's father immediately forgot his Daddy-Bear side as he snatched the box and looked at the powdered, frosted, and glazed goodies. He gasped dramatically and shoved a whole pastry in his mouth. He struggled to say thank you, and puffs of white powder came from his mouth.

"Dad, save room for breakfast!" said Harui, "You'll just get hungry an hour later at work if you only eat sweets!"

"Aw, she's like a little house mommy!" squealed Tamaki quietly. Harui glared at him. Her dad swallowed and grinned impishly.

Moments later, the three of them sat to eat rice, miso soup, and broiled fish with tea. Harui kept noticing her father shooting Tamaki devious looks.

"Well," said Mr. Fujioka, "I've really got to get to work now." He stood up quickly, somehow managing to spill a full bowl of miso soup on Harui.

"Ahh!"

"Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry!" He knelt by Harui and began drying her with a towel.

"It's ok, Dad. It just startled me. I'll go change."

"OH I KNOW JUST WHAT YOU CAN CHANGE INTO!" he squealed, holding up an outfit involving frills and accessories.

Harui's face flattened, "How did you already have that outfit ready, Dad?"

"You know me, always prepared! Come on, sweetie, it's not like I would spill soup on you on purpose!"

"Right," she snatched the outfit and went into her room.

"You're welcome," said Harui's dad to Tamaki once the door was shut.

"Sir?"

"I just thought it would be a treat for you to see her in something besides boy's clothes. She really doesn't mind either way, and sometimes I swear she just wears the first thing she sees in her closet."

"Oh," said Tamaki shortly, not sure where her father was going.

"I know I've been harsh on you- more than on her other friends. You've probably thought I don't like you."

"So you do like me?!" said Tamaki excitedly.

"I wouldn't go that far. To tell you the truth," he looked distantly at a picture of Harui on the mantle from her childhood, "I suppose I'm a little jealous of you."

"Jealous? Why?"

"Harui is growing up. It's only natural for her to confide more in the friends she chooses than in her crazy old dad. Still, despite all that, I see how happy you make her, and I see how you look at her. So, I have to be a man and think about her happiness above my own." He propped up one of his pink curlers that had started to droop.

"That's very touching, sir. Thank you for being such a caring father to Harui."

"Are you in love with my daughter?" Mr. Fujioka demanded, and stared into the boy's wide, blue eyes.

"I- I think I might be."

"What, you're not sure?"

"No, I am sure. I am in love with Harui!" he said firmly, letting out a long breath, "But I don't think she feels the same way. I don't want to tell her too soon and drive her away."

"I figured that was the case. You still don't know her as well as I do."

"What do you mean?"

"Harui was forced to grow up fast. I had to work a lot, and I was not as emotionally available as I should have been right after what happened to her mother. She took on the responsibility of caring for our home and disciplining herself in school. She had friends, but she acted like she never had time for close friends."

Tamaki smiled, "She's always done things alone because she didn't know how to reach out to people, hasn't she?"

"She did- until the Host Club came along. When she thought you were leaving, I never saw her so sad since her mom died."

Tamaki bowed, "I'm sorry I caused her that pain, sir!"

"My point is I'm not sure what Harui's romantic inclinations are. I do know that she needs you, though."

Tamaki's excitement overcame him. He lunged across the table and slammed his hands on the table, "I WON'T EVER LET HER DOWN, SIR!"

Both the men froze in the middle of the scene as they heard the door crack open. Harui emerged to stare at Tamaki tensed over the table, cheek to cheek with her dad as they both stared at her like scared deer.

"Are you two done with whatever_ this_ is? I thought you were in a rush to get to work, Dad?"

"Oh, that I am, gotta go!"

He ran out the door in his pajamas, curlers still in, taking his dress with him.

"Man, both of you are acting weird today," she said, scratching her head. She turned to Tamaki, "Is there something going on? You haven't been yourself lately."

His breath caught in his throat as he looked at her. She was wearing white shorts and a blue baby doll top that had a bow tied under her chest. Her delicate hands met in front of her holding the straps of a small leather backpack, and blue studs sparkled in her ears on either side of her wide, brown eyes. Tamaki could feel his face getting hot and he was saying thank you to Harui's dad hundreds of times in his head.

"Well, yeah. There is something that's been on my mind, Harui. I'll deal with it later, though." He smiled, "I just want to have fun with the cutest girl I know at the carnival!"

"I think I know what's bothering you, Sempai."

"You do?" he whispered. He wondered for the hundredth time since last night what she thought of their almost-kiss.

"Yeah, and I want to do something about it, too. You're right, though. For now, let's just have some fun for today!"

Tamaki stood staring at her blankly, thinking _'What is she going to do about it?'_

'_Wow, he really is out of it,'_ Harui thought as she looked up at him. She decided to act more excited about the carnival than she really was to cheer him up.

"Come on, Sempai! I haven't ridden the Ferris Wheel since I was a kid!" She grabbed his wrist and led him out the door.

Tamaki's eyes rested on her small hand, and in one fluid, unthinking motion, he moved his arm through her fingers until his hand clasped hers. She looked up at him with mild surprise, but then shrugged nonchalantly and continued to hold his hand while they walked.

They made small talk about different clubs and people along the way, and Tamaki tried to keep his voice even as he screamed with joy internally.

He kind of lost it when they got to the carnival, though:

"Harui! Look, they've got face painting! A rose on my cheek could only enhance my beauty, right?"

"Uh, sure Sempai."

Then:

"OHH, you pay for things in tickets?! Commoners are so delightfully whimsical!"

"Hey, don't say that so loud! People might think it's demeaning."

"NO I LOVE COMMONERS I'M SORRY HARUI!"

Later:

"Look, I won you a giant panda!" Tamaki thrust the toy in front of him and cocked his head as his eyes crinkled with joy.

"Whoa. Thanks. Where am I gonna put this thing?" she took the toy and peeked over the top of it.

"Well, maybe you can sleep with it in your bed and think of me!"

"_What?"_

"I mean- no I didn't mean it that way!" Tamaki blushed furiously and waved his hands erratically until Harui changed the subject. She wondered if Tamaki would be offended if she gave the panda to Hunny-Sempai.

And later still:

"I wish I could grow a beard as well as her!"

The bearded lady stoked her face regally and Harui laughed so hard that she started coughing.

And finally, the Ferris wheel:

"This is so serene. Every time we get to the top all the noise and people down there just gets smaller and smaller."

"We should ride it at night sometime. The whole wheel lights up!"

"That sounds romantic, Harui."

"Yeah, it does. We should get Kyouya to arrange a trip for our guests here next time we come!"

"Oh, right…that's what I was thinking, too."

"Um, Sempai?"

Tamaki had squatted down in the cart to grow mushrooms.

When they got off the wheel, Harui felt her phone vibrate in her bag. "Hey, would you mind getting us some ice cream, Sempai? I know you offered to earlier, and it's getting a little warmer now!"

Once he left, she pulled out her phone and saw the text she'd been anticipating from Hikaru: "We got it. The boss still w/ u?"

She responded: "Yeah, I've kept him distracted all day. Kyouya doesn't know anything, right?"

XX

_Author's note: I hope you enjoyed that hot, hand-holding action. You'll find out what they're up to in the next chapter, I promise! Thanks for reading!_


End file.
